TS-870 or 940

[KB8BAB]

Have had the 940 now for a few years, it has served me very well and still does.

Been looking at an 870, like the DSP options it has. Not sure which way to go. Keep the 940 or get the 870.

What are your experiences with the 870?. These were build from 95 to '04 I believe. Any particular serial number range to stay away from?

Thanks,
Bart
KB8BAB

[VE3TMT]

Hi Bart,

Not sure of the serial # range question, but I owned an 870 a few years back and at the time really enjoyed the radio. They are well known for the ability to do ESSB if that's your thing. Sometimes I wish I kept the radio. I went from that to a TS-2000 then an Icom 756PRO. I am now using a TS940. I like the 940, I enjoy the sound of the older analog radios compared to the newer digital units. Of course the 940 doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newer radios, but it is pleasant to listen to and looks great. Mine is in near mint condition, I have gone over all the solder joints on most boards, replaced all the caps and diodes on the AVR board, replaced all lamps with LED's and it looks and performs very nice. It also has the Piexx PC interface installed. Only thing it is missing is DSP but I have an audio DSP unit on the way.

Enjoy the 940,

Max
VE3TMT

[N7WR]

I have a TS 870S and have no plans to replace it with anything.  Absolutely outstanding receiver and on SSB transmit audio gets unsolicited outstanding reports.  To me the receiver makes the radio.  I have used many higher priced, newer radios with a lot more bells and whistles and am yet to find a receiver I like more than the 870's.  If you look at all the 870 reviews here on e-ham reviews you will find one that talks about serial numbers, date of manufacture, and which serial numbers to avoid.

[ZENKI]

Ts870S has one of the best sounding receivers on RX. There are very good reasons why it sounds so good.
The only problem is the TS870S poor transmitter which has horrible TX IMD performance. If you using it to drive a amplifier at 50 watts or less its just barely OK. If you use it on ESSB you will cause a lot of interference. The ALC
on TX is one of the worst ALC's  designs it causes so much splatter.

The TS940S is  good receiver and a transmitter with exceptional IMD performance when  compared to the current crop of top notch radios. It puts radios like the K3 and IC7700 to shame in the area of transmitter cleanliness.
If you a big gun driving a big amp I would take  the TS940S  over the TS870S any day.

I would not worry about receiver performance,  non of them overload or have problems. You should be more concerned how they work on transmit. I  still have a TS930S, TS940S and TS830S. Let me  tell you have I have  compared these old work horses to just about every modern top dollar radio. You missing nothing buying a good radio like the TS940S period. Dont become obsessed by  the silly receiver numbers games. It means very little to the average ham who has average antennas and suburban noise.

What matters is having a good sounding receiver, a clean transmitter and having a noise blanker or noise reduction system that works for your QTH. Good ergonomics are also very important. No point having a  radio like the K3 that has a excellent receiver that you only need 1% of the time and  then have poor ergonomics and a lousy lack of knobs that gives you heat burn every time you use it.  Contesters brag how good the receivers are of these super duper duper radios, yet they only get on the air in contest season(most of them) Their 6 200 ft towers with stacks idle, while the average ham is on the air every week fighting plasma TV and other QRM enjoying the hobby. Good receiver numbers dont matter when you have a S6 noise floor.

Have had the 940 now for a few years, it has served me very well and still does.

Been looking at an 870, like the DSP options it has. Not sure which way to go. Keep the 940 or get the 870.

What are your experiences with the 870?. These were build from 95 to '04 I believe. Any particular serial number range to stay away from?

Thanks,
Bart
KB8BAB

[WA7NCL]

There is no problem with TS870 transmitter.  I've had one for years and get great reports on CW and SSB.  I suppose you can screw up the the processor adjustment and get bad results.

I wonder about eham posts that don't feature any call letters.

[WB2WIK]

I had a TS-940SAT (internal tuner).  In 1990 the TS-850SAT emerged and I traded it in.  The 850S outperformed the 940S in nearly every way.

The 870S is the newer version of the 850S.  I'd swap it without batting an eye.

However, one big difference is the power supply!  The 940S had one built-in.  The 870S does not; you need a stout 25-30A 13.8V regulated power supply for the 870S.  But once you try it, you'll be amazed.

[NW0LF]

I have both the TS-940 (dead right now, I accidentally let the factory smoke out) and a TS-850.  The TS-850 has more bells and whistles, which I like.  Quality of transmission on both is the same-outstanding but I like listening to the TS-940 better.  It just has a more pleasing sound to my ears, YMMV.  I would choose the 940 since the 850 and the 870 are so similar.  The 870 would have to make a big change in the quality of the receive audio.

73
"Wolfie", NW0LF

[KB8BAB]

As always...thanks for the helpfull info.
The 870's seem to go for a good buck yet, so I may just save some more and go for a new(er) rig like the TS-590.
But that does not have an IF out...and I love my panadapter...

[K8GU]

I have a tricked-out (four Inrad IF filters, Inrad roofing filter, PIEXX digital board) TS-930S, which is considered by many to be better than the 940, although they are quite similar.  The 930 is a great radio.  It sounds like a million bucks on both TX and RX, has a pretty stout receiver, etc, etc.  I bought a K3 this past summer and although I still love the 930, the K3 kicks it all over the place as far as receive performance on a crowded band, even with the stock 5-pole 2.7-kHz roofing filter and my modest wire antennas in the suburbs.  

The point is that buying the right modern rig will give you considerable improvement over the TS-940S. I've never used an 870, so I can't comment on that.  But, I think it's fair to say that any of the new rigs in the $1500-$2000 range (TS-590S, TT Eagle, K3) are going to be head-and-shoulders above your 940.